With her uncle gripping her arm and pulling her out of the room, Ting asked in confusion:
— Why is this happening all of a sudden...? What's going on?
In a slightly altered tone, he replied:
— They're coming...! They've already found us!
— What?! So that means…
— Yes! We have to leave now! Before more come…
However, when the man opened the door and looked straight ahead, he encountered Noah—who muttered, "I came back faster than I intended..."—as he stood there surrounded by four people kneeling before Fusu and Ting.
With her head bowed, the woman declared:
— The emperor demands the return of the princess.
Upon hearing those words, Noah was taken aback, thinking:
'What?! A princess?!'
He looked at Ting and continued,
'Is this girl really a princess?!'
After noticing Noah's expression, she sighed and said:
— What are you doing, aunt? There's no reason for you to kneel before me like that.
'Aunt?!' Noah thought, staring at the woman beside him in alarm.
The woman then stood up, slowly removing the scarf that had been covering her face, and said:
— What do you mean by that, my dear? You are the emperor's daughter; of course, I must do this.
She smiled, letting her long blond hair fall, then walked over to the girl and continued:
— At least upon first seeing you, if I didn't do this, it would be a great sign of disrespect. But now that I've done it, come here so I can embrace you, my dear.
However, when Fusu released Ting's arm and used his own to prevent the woman from approaching, he asked with a serious expression:
— Why does he want her to come back now? What's the reason for that?
The smile on the woman's face faded as she replied:
— He is her father. Isn't it natural for a father to want to be close to his daughter?
He smiled and retorted:
— It would be natural, if he hadn't tried to rid himself of her before.
She shot him an angry look, clenching her fists, then looked away and said:
—…This matter certainly must not be overheard by strangers. So, take that boy away from here.
'Damn...! Looks like I'm really going to have to do this alone.'
The two men standing beside Noah grabbed him by the arms and immediately began pulling him backward. He scanned the area, hoping to distance himself from the rest of the group to create an opening to act. If one of the five were separated from the group, he would then only have to deal with four. Yet Noah hesitated, fearing that his act of bringing them here might have worsened his own situation; after all, if they are so closely united, there was a chance they might decide to help each other.
But when she saw that happening, Ting shouted:
— Wait!
She walked calmly, a little ahead of her uncle, and said:
— Let him go! How dare you hold my fiancé like that?
"Fiancé?!" the woman exclaimed, confused.
Then, upon hearing the girl's words, the three men exchanged glances and, after a brief nod, the two quickly released Noah, who passed by her en route to the house. As he went by—with a mischievous smile—the woman whispered:
— Now you owe me a favor...
'A favor...? Ridiculous! I was the first one to save your life!' Noah thought as he entered the house.
Once inside, he could feel that the woman was staring at him intently. With a slight smile, Noah waved to her from behind Ting and Fusu.
Seeing that smile on Noah's face clearly infuriated the woman, and she again clenched her fists. The sound of her teeth grinding was audible even from a distance.
"May we come in to talk? It's a bit cold out here...", she said, fighting to keep her anger in check.
The girl turned and entered; Fusu, looking apprehensive, glanced at each of the four, and after closing his eyes for a moment, stepped aside slightly to let them pass.
— "Thank you,
the woman said as she passed him.
Upon entering the house with the other three men, the girl noticed that the interior held only a table with four chairs arranged around it. Of those, two were already occupied—one by Noah and the other by Ting, who was seated beside him.
The men dispersed, each silently retreating to a corner of the room, while the woman, smiling, walked over to the table and sat down next to her niece, saying:
— May I sit beside you, right, Ting'er?
"Of course!" the girl replied, excited—after all, it had been a long time since she had seen anyone other than her uncle and the guards who accompanied them.
Soon after, Fusu settled into the only free chair at the table. Now, at the table were Noah (with Fusu seated at the front), Ting already sitting to Noah's right, and the woman right next to her.
"I'll ask again: why does he want her to come back?"
"I already answered your question, didn't I?" the woman retorted with a smile.
"…That fake smile isn't going to work with me, because I know you very well. So, answer my question already."
The woman looked at Fusu, who maintained a serious expression, and said:
— I don't know, okay...? They simply sent me to fetch him, and nothing more.
"What?! So he didn't even give you that order personally?"
She looked away, and the man immediately understood what that implied. While they argued—and Noah and Ting remained silent—the three men accompanying the woman exchanged glances and, slowly, began unsheathing their swords.